USC’s top 12 sports moments of 2011

It was a very good year for QB Matt Barkley and the USC football team. How many times did they make our list of top 12 USC sports moments of 2011? Click through the photos to find out.TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

It was a very good year for QB Matt Barkley and the USC football team. How many times did they make our list of top 12 USC sports moments of 2011? Click through the photos to find out. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER12. The sweep First, in late April, freshman Sophia Popov (pictured) helped the USC women's golf team win the Pac-10 championship, in the process winning the conference's individual crown. Then, in early May, sophomore Martin Trainer did the same for the men's team. Add it all up, and USC became the first Pac-10 school to sweep the team and individual titles in men's and women's golf. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; GETTY IMAGES PHOTO11. The celebration The men's basketball team sat squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble last March. When “USC” flashed on the screen as a No. 11 seed, the players turned their locker room into a mosh pit, jumping, screaming and tackling one another. USC lost its “First Four” matchup with fellow No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth, which ended up advancing to the Final Four. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE REGISTER10. The capper Redshirt senior Nia Ali (right) closed her USC career by winning the NCAA Division I women's 100-meter high hurdles on June 11 in Des Moines, Iowa. Ali won the race in a wind-aided, personal-best 12.63 seconds. Ali helped the Trojans women's team to a sixth-place overall finish at the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; AP PHOTO9. The champ Junior Steve Johnson won the NCAA men's tennis singles title by defeating Tennessee's Ryne Williams, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, on May 30 at Stanford. The Orange High product, ranked No. 1 in the nation, became the 12th Trojan to win an NCAA singles crown and the first since 1996. He also extended his winning streak to 35 matches. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; AP PHOTO8. The groundbreaking USC was a dominant force in college football last decade despite having relatively subpar facilities. That changed Jan. 12, when the school broke ground on the John McKay Center. The $70 million building, set to open in July, will house meeting rooms, coaches' offices and a locker room for the football program, as well as an academic center, weight room and athletic training room for all of USC's 21 sports teams. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY CARLOS DELGADO, FOR THE REGISTER7. The blowout No matter what happened when USC faced crosstown rival UCLA in the Nov. 26 season finale, the Bruins were headed to the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game. But the Trojans, banned from postseason play because of NCAA sanctions, wanted to make sure everyone knew who the real Pac-12 South champs were. USC did it in emphatic fashion, blasting UCLA, 50-0. Yes, 50-0. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER6. The turning point When did the Trojans football team unofficially re-establish its place in the national consciousness? Look no further than Oct. 22 at rival Notre Dame. USC arrived in South Bend as an 8.5-point underdog and left with a 31-17 victory. The Trojans controlled the line of scrimmage and came up with several key defensive plays, including safety Jawanza Starling's 80-yard fumble return for a touchdown. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; GETTY IMAGES PHOTO5. The best Junior Katinka Hosszu became the second USC woman to win three NCAA swimming titles in the same year when she prevailed in the 200-yard individual medley, the 400-yard IM and the 200-yard butterfly at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in mid-March in Austin, Texas. Hosszu was named Swimmer of the Meet and subsequently earned the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top female swimmer. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; AP PHOTO4. The three-peat The men's tennis team won its third consecutive NCAA championship, edging previously unbeaten Virginia on May 24 at Stanford. For the second year in a row, Daniel Nguyen earned the clinching point, defeating Virginia's Sanam Singh in three sets. USC became the first school to win three consecutive Division I men's tennis titles since Stanford won four in a row from 1995-98. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; AP PHOTO3. The four-peat The men's water polo team became the first in NCAA history to win four consecutive national championships by defeating UCLA in the Dec. 4 final. Goal Joel Dennerley earned NCAA Tournament MVP honors. Teammates Peter Kurzeka and Nikola Vavic joined Dennerly as first-team all-tournament selections. Coach Jovan Vavic won his 10th national title at USC. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY DAN AVILA, USC SPORTS INFORMATION2. The upset How could a regular-season football victory top a national championship? Well, first of all, it's football. Second, it happened at Pac-12 champion Oregon, which hadn't lost a regular-season home game under third-year coach Chip Kelly. A two-touchdown underdog, USC broke its oh-for-Oregon streak with excellent defense early, good fortune late and stellar quarterbacking by Barkley throughout. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; REUTERS PHOTO1. The decision USC's top sports moment of 2011 did not occur on a playing field but at a news conference when Barkley announced on Dec. 22 that he would return for his senior season. Barkley instantly became the front-runner for the 2012 Heisman Trophy, and USC became a contender for the national championship, just like the old days. TEXT BY MICHAEL LEV, THE REGISTER; PHOTO BY PAUL RODRIGUEZ, THE REGISTER

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